1. Field of the Invention
This invention has to do with pipe cleanout tools such as are used for removing stoppages in waste pipes, particularly those leading from sinks and water closets.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Prior art closet augers of the type used principally for clearing stoppages in pipes leading from water closets and the like are for the most part cumbersome and often difficult to use. One reason for this is that to properly remove water closet stoppages it is necessary to rotatably insert at least about three feet of "snake" or coiled spring into the system. Accordingly the typical prior art closet auger consisted of a tubular barrel or casing about three feet in length, a flexible plumber's snake of about the same length and a handle also about three feet in length to which the end of the snake was affixed. In operating the device, the snake is withdrawn into the tube so that the handle extends upwardly about three feet from the end of the tube. The end of the snake is then inserted into the water closet and the handle is telescoped into the tube with a rotating action forcing the three foot length of snake downwardly into the water closet piping. Since at the beginning of the cleanout operation the handle is more than six feet above floor level, operation of the device is quite cumbersome.
In an attempt to make the closet auger easier to store, transport and use, Robert G. Hunt suggested a novel improved device which permitted the overall length of the tool to be reduced. This device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,244. While Hunt provided a more versatile and easier to use device, the maximum length of snake which could be inserted into the piping was still limited. This limitation made the tool useful for only certain types of applications and when, for example, a sink system or similar plumbing circuit was clogged, other types of cleanout devices having longer lengths of available snake were required to be used.
The present invention constitutes a marked improvement over the basic Hunt invention permitting the improved device to be used for a wide variety of cleanout operations. Due to the novel construction of the device of the present invention, there exists virtually no limitations on the length of snake which can be inserted into the plumbing circuit. This feature, plus other features involving the telescoping aspects of the device presently to be described make it useful in cleaning out clogged sinks, bathtubs and like plumbing circuits as well as water closet stoppages.